Screened Porch Builders in Marietta, GA

Ask most Marietta homeowners how often they actually sit out on their open deck and the honest answer is: less than they expected when they built it. Between the pollen dusting every surface each spring, gnats and mosquitoes showing up the moment the sun starts going down, and the kind of pop-up thunderstorm that rolls through Cobb County on a summer schedule you can practically set a clock to, an unscreened deck gets used in short bursts rather than every evening. A screened porch changes that math.

We design and build screened porches over both new decks and existing ones throughout Marietta and Cobb County, engineered to Georgia Building Code and sized for our wind and rain rather than assembled to just look good in dry, calm weather. Some homeowners call it a lanai, some call it a screened-in porch — either way, the build and the payoff are the same: a room attached to your house that you can use nearly year-round instead of a handful of good weeks each season.

Why Gnats and Mosquitoes Are a Bigger Deal Near Certain Cobb County Lots

Properties backing up to wooded areas near Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, or anywhere close to a creek, pond, or the Chattahoochee River corridor, deal with noticeably heavier gnat and mosquito pressure than a flat, open lot in a newer subdivision. If that describes your backyard, we typically recommend a finer no-see-um mesh over standard fiberglass screen, since the tighter weave keeps out the smallest biting insects that a normal screen door lets right through.

Retrofitting an Existing Deck vs. Building a New Screened Porch

If you already have a solid deck, we can often build the screen enclosure and roof directly on top of the existing structure rather than tearing it out and starting fresh, which is usually the more affordable path to the same finished result. That only works if the existing framing is actually sound and can handle the additional weight of roof trusses and screen panel framing, so we inspect it honestly before quoting either approach — we would rather tell you a rebuild is needed up front than have a screen porch settle unevenly a year later.

Permits for a Roofed Structure

A screened porch is a roofed structure under Georgia Building Code, which means it needs a permit with engineered plans through the City of Marietta or Cobb County, not just a simple deck permit. Some contractors are tempted to treat it as a minor add-on and skip the paperwork; we do not, because wind-load requirements are stricter for anything with a roof, and a permit pulled after the fact — or never pulled at all — becomes a real problem the day you try to sell the house. We handle the engineering, the filing, and every inspection along the way. If permitting is a concern on any part of your project, our Marietta deck permit guide walks through what the city actually checks.

Screen-Only Enclosures vs. a Solid Roof

We build both. A screen-only enclosure over an existing roofline is the more affordable option and still solves the bug problem completely, but it does not add meaningful rain protection since water can still blow in sideways during a storm. A fully roofed screened porch with a solid or insulated covering costs more but genuinely extends the space's usability during Georgia's frequent summer downpours, which matters more here than in a drier climate. We will talk through both against how you actually plan to use the space before recommending one.

Screened Porch or Open Deck — Weighing the Two

Not every homeowner wants to give up the completely open sightlines of a deck, and that is a fair trade-off to weigh. Some clients end up building a hybrid: part open deck for grilling and open-air seating, part screened porch for dining and evening use once the bugs come out. If you are still deciding which direction fits your household, our screened porch versus open deck comparison lays out the decision framework in more detail, and our pergolas and covered decks page covers a middle-ground option that adds shade without full enclosure.

Matching the Porch to Your Home's Architecture

A screened porch is a visible addition to the house, not a tucked-away backyard structure, so the roofline, framing color, and screen panel layout need to actually fit your home rather than look like an aftermarket add-on. We design around whether your house is an older craftsman near downtown Marietta and the Square or a newer build further out toward Kennesaw or East Cobb, so the finished porch reads as part of the original architecture.

Flooring Choices Inside a Screened Porch

The decking inside a screened porch takes less weather abuse than an open deck since it is protected from direct rain and sun, which opens up some flooring options that would not hold up as well outside. Some Marietta homeowners still choose pressure-treated pine or cedar for a warm, traditional look; others prefer composite decking inside the enclosure for the same low-maintenance reasons they would choose it on an open deck. A few go further and finish the porch floor in tile or stained concrete over a solid sub-base, which reads more like an indoor room extension than a typical backyard structure. We will talk through the trade-offs of each based on how you plan to furnish and use the space.

Ventilation is worth planning for too. A screened porch with a solid roof and no real airflow can still feel stuffy on a still, humid July afternoon even with the bugs kept out. We typically design in a ceiling fan at minimum, and on larger porches we will sometimes add a second fan or a transom vent near the roofline so hot air has somewhere to go instead of sitting trapped under the ceiling.

Screened Porches & Lanais FAQs — Marietta, GA